Lumines: Electronic Symphony Review

When it comes to a brick puzzle game, there’s only one game that gets stuck to everyone’s mind this generation and it’s Lumines. Following the successful release of Q Entertainment’s Lumines from various platforms like the PS3 and PSP, the PlayStation Vita gets its own version this time with vast improvements and a new way to play via the Vita’s touch screen controls. With the game being a launch title, is Lumines a game that you should be picking up along with your PlayStation Vita?

Let’s check what’s HOT and NOT in our review of Lumines: Electronic Symphony for the PlayStation Vita.

HOT

A Fun Way To Solve Puzzles
Tetris has become a cult classic when it comes to brick puzzle games but as we go to the next generation, solving them has never been easier as a new brick puzzle game has taken over and it’s Lumines. With Lumines: Electronic Symphoniy for the PlayStation Vita, everything we loved from the previous titles are back with some new improvements that makes it even worth it for anyone who just loves a puzzle game. If you’re new to Lumines, then you’re missing out on a lot of things.

When playing Lumines, your ultimate goal is the same as Tetris and it’s very simple; create blocks that have the same color and clear them out to make spaces and last longer. If you happen to stack blocks all the way on top, it’s game over. While the premise is simple, this isn’t only the reason why it’s good as there are things behind that make players like us love it including the techno beats it has to get us pumped up and many more.

Impressive Techno Beats
To make solving puzzles in Lumines a little bit more engaging, there will be techno beats that will go along with each puzzle. The techno beats in Lumines are one of things that I found amusing as by simply listening to it, it makes solving puzzles a lot easier. Both solving puzzles and listening to these kind of music tracks makes a perfect combination in these kind of games. For the PS Vita version of Lumines, there are new tracks that you can expect, namely the ones from popular bands such as The Chemical Brothers and more.

Avatar Now Gives Abilities
In past Lumines, avatars are there for simply as an identification on who you are. This time in Electronic Symphony, avatars that you get to choose carries more weight as each of the ones available in the game has an ability that can effect how you solve puzzles. An example of this is the Boy avatar that gives you the ability to change the next waiting block into a chain ones. With over 10 avatars that are available, the challenge in solving puzzles greatly increased. Think of the avatar abilities as a modifier when solving puzzles as some can be beneficial to you while others will be at a disadvantage.

New Backgrounds, 3D colorful landscapes and more
Along with the techno beats that will accompany you while solving puzzles, another thing to look forward to is the new backgrounds it has. Every time you get to clear the timer, the background changes into beautiful landscapes, colorful backgrounds and a lot more. However, as the background clears, the colors of the blocks changes, giving you somekind of a hard time to adjust. The game gets more challenging as you clear each level and the time rate the block drops will be increased as well.

Get Scores and Brag About It
Gamers aren’t playing it just for fun but they also play it for high scores. The more chains that you get to do when solving the puzzles, the more points that you achieve. Every time the game ends, you will have an option to either save your score or retry it. Based on your performance, you will get a score that gets posted on the leaderboards at the main menu of the game and experience points to level you up. Every time you get a level, new stuff gets unlocked and it can either be an avatar or something that will enhance your experience when playing Lumines.

New Modes and the Shuffle Block!
It’s no doubt that Electronic Symphony offers a lot of things and among of those are the new game modes. One of the things that I am fond of is the Duel Mode where you can play with other players locally. While the Voyage mode, where you pretty much just play endless arcade-type of puzzle, might bore you out, there is Master mode waiting for those who want a challenge. In the Master Mode, players who just love puzzle solving games should try this one out. Speaking of challenge, the new shuffle block will also be one of the new things in Electronic Symphony where one block changes color in random.

NOT

Not For Everyone Due to Difficulty
When I first played Lumines when it was released, it was one of those games that I got annoyed by due to its difficulty. As with every puzzle game, it starts out slow until it gets to the limit where it’s just impossible to bear – expect that in Lumines. However, with the new game modes it has, any player who has patience and skill will love the challenges that await them.

Touch Controls Are There But Not Really Necessary
As with all Vita games, touch screen controls are always possible but for games such as Lumines, I find using the normal controls a lot better and easier. For those who want to try out the touch screen controls, they are free to do so but expect some learning curve along the way. With the use of the front touch panel, you can move and arrange the blocks. While it may sound innovative, actually it’s not as it gets harder especially when the blocks starts to come down fast!

VERDICT

Lumines: Electronic Symphony is hands-down the perfect launch title for the PlayStation Vita. The enhancements and additional features are so vast that it’s almost overwhelming. However, the new features are something that anyone can enjoy. For the $39.99 price tag, you are getting a lot of value with this simple, yet elegant puzzle game. Expect quite a lot of replayablity with an amazing techno soundtrack. Overall, Lumines: Electronic Symphony packs a punch.

[Editor’s Note: Lumines: Electronic Symphony was reviewed on the PlayStation Vita. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]